Ellsberg on Afghanistan – Updated

On the military analyses being drawn up for Afghanistan: “I know that horseshit.”

The last few minutes are the most chilling. Ellsberg believes that Obama will commit many thousands more troops to a war he knows can’t be won for fear of a revolt by the generals if they don’t get their way. As we all know, there are far too many Americans who would support a coup.

If anyone can get at a transcript, please pass it along.

Update: Please see this letter of reisgnation from one of our diplomats in Afghanistan. (Kindly sent along by cometman.)

I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States’ presence in Afghanistan. . . .

I fail to see the value or the worth in continued US casualties or expenditures of resources in support of the Afghan government in what is, truly, a 35-year old civil war. . . .

Ellsberg sounds right on the money. The last bit does certainly make you think. I’ve still never been able to figure out why Obama promoted McChystal in the first place. From everything I’ve heard, the guy is a ghoul and I’m not sure why he’s even still in the military. Somebody needs to remind Obama that even a massively popular general like MacArthur got the boot when he tried to set foreign policy and McChyrstal is no MacArthur.

Thought this might be of interest – now it’s native american tribes who are opposed to the cape wind project. Evidently it will be an eyesore when they wave hello to the sun in the morning and will upset their ancestors who were presumably buried on the ocean floor.

A few years ago I worked to oppose a tribal casino and thought that if banks were willing to finance a casino, they ought to be willing to finance something a little more productive like wind farms. Then I saw your post about the west coast wind farm where the native americans wanted to build one but were meeting opposition. Now this wind farm on the cape has finally made it past the objections of the Kennedys and the native americans oppose it.

The only good thing about tribal casinos is – sometimes – the food. There is one in Lincoln City OR that used to have a brunch buffet for $6.95 or something that featured sushi, smoked salmon, you name it. Now that I’ll spend money on.